That title seems counterintuitive at best. The vast majority of us have an immense desire to have victory in many aspects of our lives. It is what we strive for. The concept of victory that I am talking about is based on a quote by Jocko Willink. He says:
"The disease of victory takes place when a few battlefield successes produce an overconfidence in a team's own tactical prowess while underestimating the capabilities of its enemy or competitor."
Too often we allow the partial attainment of our goals lull us into comfortable complacency. You have to consistently take action or your own inaction will humble you. You have to remember that you are either leading your organization toward your goals or you are leading them away from them. There is no in-between.
"The risk in any action must be carefully weighed against the potential rewards of mission success. And of course, to counter that thought, the cost of inaction must be weighed as well. The aggression that wins on the battlefield, in business, or in life is directed not toward people but toward solving problems, achieving goals, and accomplishing the mission."
-Jocko Willink
Whenever we reason, we do so to some end to achieve an objective, to satisfy some desire or fulfill a need. One source of problems in human reasoning is traceable to defects at the level of goal, purpose, or end. We often are unclear, unrealistic, or unprepared to achieve the goal, purpose, or end.
In the Army we constantly trained on tactics. As you progress into more advanced tactics your techniques often become more simplified rather than more complex. The more simplified our approaches were the easier we could execute them under stress. Doing this allowed our speed and violence of action to overcome our adversaries rather than a perfectly designed plan.
In businesses and organizations we often times do the opposite of that. We make the decision making processes more difficult through policies and procedures as our organizations grow. There is a dichotomy in this, we can't be reckless but how many times do we get to the right decision but execute in the wrong time?
There are five things that I continuously focus on as I lead, Simon Sinek discusses some of these in his book, “The infinite Game”. If I don’t do these things I fail. No matter how comfortable I get I ALWAYS do these five things in leadership. These items are what inspire me, give me clarity, give me focus, and drive results.
1. Advance a Just Cause
2. Build Trusting Teams
3. Study Your Worthy Rivals
4. Prepare For Existential Flexibility
5. Demonstrate the Courage to Lead
This is a cyclical process that has no linear end. There are victories along the way but there is no ultimate victory in leadership. That is why I love it, I love the chase, the challenge, and the grind. You never reach the top. There will always be a cause, rivals, changes, development, and the need for courage.
I hope these thoughts challenge you and inspire your leadership.
Lead NWA well this week!
- Dr. Keith McDaniel
